The axe does not augur well for Zaheer Khan, Sehwag and Harbhajan, who are trying to make a national comeback.

Yuvraj and out-of-form Gautam Gambhir remain in the BCCI's scheme of things but have been demoted to Group B where a player draws Rs.50 lakh per annum.

Keeping them company in the grade are in-form Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Rohit Sharma. The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra and Ajinkya Rahane are in Group C and get Rs.25 lakh each for the central contract.

The players who do not figure in these lists will be placed in Grade C if they represent India in Tests/ODIs/ T20 Internationals during the season, said BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel in a statement Thursday.